Everything is a farm!

We have a rabbit problem. Mostly, the little rodents keep eating my delicious organic backyarden (I just made up that word and I fully expect it to take off) and leaving their poop behind. I have yet to take in the rewards of lettuce, spinach, or the larger strawberries. I am the embodiment of daily frustration, and you can frequently find me running around the fenced-in backyard, chasing a grey blur through the weeds and kid toys, hoping to find their secret entrance THIS TIME. Jerks.

BUT.

This circumstance works in the after-world of the Zombie Apocalypse. Assuming teeny little rabbits and their equally destructive brethren, the squirrel, are not phased by the plague, they can most likely outrun the lumbering undead. Unplug the holes under the fence and open that garden as a Small Furry Livestock Salad Buffet. With luck, you have container gardens at that point (if you are planning to hunker down and stay a while) so what they eat won't affect what is left for you to eat. All you need for a scrumptious* rabbit or squirrel stew are the game. Time to set the traps (because you don't want to waste ammo.)

How to make a homemade rabbit trap
How to make a squirrel trap

Once you've caught a couple rabbits and a few squirrels, it's time to start the pot.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of vinegar**
1 tsp. of mixed spices
1 small diced onion
a few celery leaves
2 diced carrots
2 diced onions
salt and pepper to taste.
(A little good wine, optional)

Directions for preparing game:
To take away the too-wild taste of rabbits and squirrels, soak them overnight in salt water in proportion of 1/2 tsp salt to 1 qt. water. Rabbits may be cut up, covered with brine, and kept in a cool place several days. Rabbit started this way is extremely tender and has a fine flavor.

Directions for stew:
Cut in pieces for serving. Put in saucepan with 1/2 cup of vinegar, 1 tsp. mixed spices, 1 small diced onion and a few celery leaves. Cover with water. Let stand 2-3 hrs. Drain. Place in roasting pan. Brown in moderate oven (375 degrees F). Add salt and pepper to taste. Add 2 diced onions, and 2 diced carrots (truthfully, any veggie will be a welcome accompaniment). Cover with water, and cook slowly until tender. Thicken broth until consistency of thick cream.
source: Betty Owens, Springville, Indiana

* I should note that the very idea of trapping and killing squirrels and rabbits currently makes me feel queasy and ill. I would entirely expect to hear the Law & Order theme during the hunt. So this is not a tried recipe. However, in the event of an apocalypse where food is scarce, I'd likely change my opinion on the matter rather quickly. Unless they became teeny harbingers of walking death, but let's pretend they don't for the sake of this blog.

**VINEGAR! See? It's a staple.